In addition to debunking the Washington Post's story as the rancid, fascist red-baiting garbage that it is, a number of the websites that have been smeared as Russian water carriers are reportedly considering suing the bastards at PropOrNot.
According to US News and World Report "Publications Called Russian-Propaganda Distributors Consider Suing Anonymous 'Experts'":
Several American news outlets are considering legal action against the anonymous person or group that last week published a widely distributed list of alleged Russian propaganda outlets and "bona-fide 'useful idiots'" of the Kremlin.
Online publications including the influential news-aggregating Drudge Report, the primary-source publisher WikiLeaks and news outlets of various leanings made "the list" hosted on the website PropOrNot.com.
The Washington Post leaned heavily on the anonymous group's claims last week in an article reporting that "two teams of independent researchers" -- including the Foreign Policy Research Institute and PropOrNot -- had found a "Russian propaganda effort helped spread 'fake news'" ahead of the recent presidential election.
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The Washington Post reported that the executive director of PropOrNot spoke with the paper "on the condition of anonymity to avoid being targeted by Russia's legions of skilled hackers."
For now, the identity of PropOrNot's operator or operators remains stubbornly hidden, as the site is registered with Domains By Proxy, which allows for anonymity. Legal action might have better success at unmasking the individual or entity, which directs inquires to a Gmail email address and maintains accounts on Facebook, Twitter and reddit.
The US News piece cites a number of the accused foreign moles on the list published by PropOrNot and this author personally knows of at least one of the site proprietors from the blacklist who is considering legal action.
However, the greatest impediment to holding PropOrNot accountable for their lies and smears is the operation's cloak of secrecy which at least for now, remains in place.
The greatest service to the projection of free speech and free association would be finding out exactly who these rats are and then publishing that information so that the parties who have had their reputations unjustly tarnished can seek the appropriate remedy through the courts. Not only can justice be served but there can also be some insight into who it is that is providing the funding to PropOrNot and whether that funding is coming from domestic or foreign sources. Nothing cleanses like sunlight and these vampires need to be rooted from their nests and dragged out into the open.
There are undoubtedly a good number of patriots out there who have good research and investigative skills which combined with Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) tools can peel away the layers of anonymity that PropOrNot has chosen to cower behind. Perhaps a number of those who have been targeted could even put together a crowd-sourcing campaign to raise the funds in order to hire professionals, it's not like there is any shortage of private intelligence firms that would be up to the task for a price. Hey, it's not like the bad guys aren't outsourcing a good amount of their dirty work.
There have likely been laws violated by PropOrNot well in addition to the damage done to the reputations of legitimate alternative news sources on their blacklist because you know:
..the kind of folks who make propaganda for brutal authoritarian oligarchies are often involved in a wide range of bad business. We strongly suspect that some of the individuals involved have violated the Espionage Act, the Foreign Agent Registration Act, and other related laws, but determining that is up to the FBI and the DOJ.
That's straight from the horse's mouth and they should know because it applies to them as well.
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